Launching of the Regional Trade Policy Course for African Countries in
partnership with Mohammed V Souissi University in Rabat, Morocco

Twenty-six representatives from 23 African countries attended, on
Monday, 20 September 2004, the opening ceremony of the Regional Trade
Policy Course organized by the WTO in partnership with Mohammed V -
Souissi University in Rabat, Morocco.

Presiding
over the ceremony were Dr Ta´eb Chkili, President of Mohammed V -
Souissi University, and Mr Mustapha Mechahouri, Minister of Foreign Trade of the
Kingdom of Morocco. The Minister of National Education, Higher Education, Staff
Training and Scientific Research and the State Secretary for Vocational Training
also attended.

Also present
was Mr Paul Rolian, Director of the WTO Institute for Training and Technical
Co-operation who, in his opening address, welcomed all of the participants on
his own behalf and on behalf of the WTO Director-General, Dr Supachai
Panitchpakdi. He thanked Mohammed V - Souissi University for its active
cooperation in the course preparations and encouraged the participants to make
the most of the weeks ahead.

Mr Mustapha
Mechahouri, Minister of Foreign Trade, began his address by thanking the World
Trade Organization for the technical assistance it had provided in favour of the
developing countries, and reminded participants of the importance of the
occasion: "This regional trade policy course is an excellent opportunity to
complete the training of our human resources and better assimilate the concepts
that govern the multilateral trading system."

Over the
next twelve weeks, participants will be able to become acquainted with the rules
of the WTO and the way the organization operates. The courses will be given by
WTO representatives as well as regional representatives, in the form of
presentations, discussions, practical exercises and simulations.

This
partnership scheme with higher education institutions in the developing
countries was developed with a view to achieving three basic goals. The first is
to increase the number of government officials in the developing countries by
providing them with a solid foundation of knowledge on the WTO, and thus build
up their governments' capacity to articulate and defend their national
interests. The second objective is to build partnerships between the WTO and the
institutions of the countries of a given region. In this case, Mohammed V -
SouissiUniversity
will be assuming a greater share of the responsibility by adapting the courses
as it sees fit and using them as a basis for developing other activities.
Finally, the third objective is to establish research links between universities
and other institutions of the region and the international organizations,
including the WTO.

Regional
trade policy courses are part of the WTO's technical assistance and
capacity‑building programme, and are modelled on three-month trade policy
courses that have been organized by the GATT/WTO in Geneva for over 40 years.
They were first introduced in 2002, and have since been held in Africa, in the
Asia/Pacific region, and in the Caribbean. There are plans to organize a regional
course in Latin America in 2005.